Method Of Language Teaching: The Silent Way

Method Of lecture T every(prenominal)ing The close meansThe tranquil itinerary is the hear of a method of speech educateing devised by Caleb Gattegno. Gattegnos name is travel along up kn take got for his revival of interest in the role of sloped wooden sticks c altogethered cuisenaire perchs and for his series Words in Colour, an approach to the commandment method of initial reading in which efficaciouss ar coded by specific likenesss. His materials atomic number 18 copyrighted and marketed by means of an organization he operates called Educational Solutions Inc., in New York. The motionless dash sets Gattegnos venture into the field of foreign delivery t to each oneing. It is based on the premise that the instructor should be silent as much as possible in the break uproom and the carryer should be encouraged to leaven as much address as possible. Elements of the tranquil Way, articulationicularly the victimisation up of colouringation charts a nd the colou ruby-red cuisenaire rods, grew out of Gattegnos previous experience as an studyal designer of reading and mathematics programs. (Cuisenaire rods were send-off developed by Georges Cuisenaire, a European educator who employ them for the educational activity of math. Gattegno had ob respondd Cuisenaire and this gave him the idea for their habit in row teaching.)The reserved Way shargons a great muckle with former(a)(a) tuition theories and educational philosophies. Very broadly put, the education hypotheses be Gattegnos work could be stated as follows1) breeding is facilitated if the disciple discoers or grows so peerlessr than remembers and repeats what is to be learned.2) Learning is facilitated by accompanying (mediating) physical objects.3) Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the material to be learned.Let us consider each of these issues in turn.1. The educational psychologist and philosopher Jerome Bruner distinguishes deuce tradition s of teaching that which takes get into in the expository mode and that which takes place in the hypothetical mode. In the expository mode decisions covering the mode and pace and style of interpretation argon principally determined by the teacher as expositor the learner is the listener. In the hypothetical mode the teacher and the scholar be in a to a greater extent cooperative position. The scholarly person is non a bench-bound listener, nevertheless is taking part in the play the principal role in it (Bruner 1966 83),The uncommunicative Way belongs to the latter tradition, which views teaching as a problem-solving, creative, discovering activity, in which the learner is a principal actor rather than a bench-bound listener. Bruner discusses the benefits derived from break finished encyclopaedism under four headings (a) the increase in intellectual potency, (b) the recess from extrinsic to intrinsic rewards, (c) the puzzlement of heuristics by discovering, and (d) the aid to conserving memory (Bruner 1966 83). As we shall understand, Gattegno claims similar benefits from learners taught via the understood Way.2. The rods and the coded-coded pronunciation charts (called Fidel charts) provide physical foci for scholar accomplishment and also create memorable images to facilitate pupil recall. In psychological terms, these optical devices serve as associatory mediators for student training and recall. The psychological books on mediation in reading and recall is voluminous only, for our purposes, nates be briefly summarized in a quote from Earl StevickIf the use of associative mediators produces intermit retention than repetition does, it seems to be the case that the quality of the mediators and the students personalised investment in them whitethorn also have a right effect on memory. (Stevick 1976 25)3. The Silent Way is also related to a set of premises that we have called problem-solving approaches to learning. These premise s atomic number 18 succinctly re interpret in the countersigns of Benjamin FranklinTell me and I forget,teach me and I remember,involve me and I learn.In the dustup of experimentational psychology, the kind of subject matter involvement that promotes greatest learning and recall involves processing of material to be learned at the greatest cognitive depth (Craik 1973) or, for our purposes, involving the greatest totality of problem-solving activity. Memory research has demonstrated that the learners memory benefits from creatively searching out, discovering and portrayal (Bower and Winzenz 1970). In the Silent Way, the teachers strict avoidance of repetition forces alertness and engrossment on the part of the learners (Gattegno 1972 80). Similarly, the learners grappling with the problem of forming an countenance and meaningful none in a new wording leads the learner to realization of the expression done his hold perceptual and analytical powers (Selman 1977). The Si lent Way student is pass judgment to become fissiparous, autonomous and amenable (Gattegno 1976) in other words, a good problem solver in run-in. ApproachTheory of wrangleGattegno takes an cle ardly sceptical view of the role of linguistic theory in language teaching methodology. He feels that linguistic studies may be a specialization, that carry with them a narrow opening of ones sensitivity and perhaps serve very little towards the broad end in top dog (Gattegno 1972 84). Gattegno views language itself as a substitute for experience, so experience is what gives meaning to language (Gattegno 1972 8). We ar not surprised accordingly to see simulated experiences use tokens and picture charts as central elements in Silent Way teaching. sizable discussion is devoted to the importance of grasping the spirit of the language and not just its component forms. By the spirit of the language Gattegno is referring to the counseling each language is composed of phonological and su prasegmental elements that combine to give the language its extraordinary sound brass and melody. The learner moldiness gain a feel for this aspect of the target language as soon as possible, though how the learner is to do this is not altogether pee.By feeling at the material chosen and the sequence in which it is presented in a Silent Way classroom, it is clear that the Silent Way takes a geomorphological approach to the organization of language to be taught. Language is seen as groups of sounds helter-skelter associated with specific meanings and organized into metres or strings of meaningful social units by grammar rules. Language is separated from its social context and taught through artificial situations, usually represent by rods. Lessons follow a sequence based on grammatic complexity, and new lexical and morphological material is meticulously broken put through into its elements, with one element presented at a eon. The sentence is the basic unit of teaching, a nd the teacher focuses on prepositional meaning, rather than communicative value. scholarly persons are presented with the structural patterns of the target language and learn the grammar rules of the language through largely inducive processes.Gattegno sees verbiage as a central dimension of language learning and the choice of vocabulary as crucial. He distinguishes between several classes of vocabulary items. The semi-luxury vocabulary consists of expressions common in the daily bearing of the target language culture this refers to food, clothing, travel, family life, and so on. Luxury vocabulary is use in communication more specialized ideas, such(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) as political or philosophic opinions. The closely important vocabulary for the learner deals with the most functional and assorted words of the language, more of which may not have direct equivalents in the learners internal tongue. This functional vocabulary provides a key, says Gattegno, to comprehending the spirit of the language. Theory of learningLike many other method proponents, Gattegno makes extensive use of his taste of first language learning processes as a basis for deriving principles for teaching foreign languages to adults. Gattegno recommends, for example, that the learner pick outs to return to the state of mind that characterizes a babys learning surrender (Scott and Page 1982 273).Having referred to these processes, however, Gattegno states that the processes of learning a moment language are radically diverse from those involved in learning a first language. The second language learner is unlike the first language learner and housenot learn another language in the alike way because of what he now knows (Gattegno 1972 11). The inwrought or direct approaches to getting a second language are therefrom misguided, says Gattegno, and a happy second language approach volition replace a natural approach by one that is very artificial and, for some purposes, pu depone controlled (1972 12).The artificial approach that Gattegno proposes is based on the principle that successful learning involves commitment of the self to language acquisition through the use of silent awareness and then active trial. Gattegnos repeated emphasis on the primacy of learning over teaching places a focus on the self of the learner, on the learners priorities and commitments.To verbalise requires the descent of the will into the voluntary speech organs and a clear grasp by ones linguistic self of what one is to do to produce definite sounds in definite ways. Only the self of the speaker system seat intervene to make objective what it holds in itself. Every student must be seen as a will capable of that work. (Gattegno 1976 7)The self, we are told, consists of two systems a learning system and a retaining system. The learning system is activated only by way of intelligent awareness. The learner must constantly test his powers to abstract, analyse, synthesize and integrate (Scott and Page 1982 273). Silence is considered the outgo vehicle for learning, because in silence students concentrate on the task to be accomplished and the potential means to its accomplishment. Repetition (as opposed to silence) consumes beat and encourages the scattered mind to remain scattered (Gattegno 1976 80). Silence, as avoidance of repetition, is thence an aid to alertness, concentration, and mental organization.The retaining system allows us to remember and recall at will linguistic elements and their organizing principles and makes linguistic communication possible. Gattegno speaks of remembering as a matter of paying ogdens. An ogden is a unit of mental energy needed to tie-in permanently two mental elements, such as a shape and a sound or a label and an object. The beat of the link through active attention is the cost of remembering paying(a) in ogdens. Retention by way of mental effort, awareness, and thoughtfulness is more efficient in terms of ogdens consumed than is retention attained through mechanized repetition. Again, silence is a key to triggering awareness and hence the preferred way to retention. Retention links are in fact formed in the most silent of periods, that of sopor The mind does much of this work during sleep (Stevick 1980 41).Awareness is educable. As one learns in awareness, ones powers of awareness and ones capacity to learn become greater. The Silent Way thus claims to facilitate what psychologists call learning to learn. Again, the process chain that develops awareness proceeds from attention, production, self- countersinkion, and absorption. Silent Way learners acquire inner criteria, which play a central role in ones education throughout all of ones life (Gattegno 1976 29). These inner criteria allow learners to observe and self- make better their feature production. It is in the activity of self-correction through self-awareness that the Silent Way claims to differ most notably from other ways of language learning. It is this capacity for self-awareness that the Silent Way calls upon, a capacity said to be little appreciated or exercised by first language learners.But the Silent Way is not merely a language teaching method. Gattegno sees language learning through the Silent Way as a recovery of innocence a return to our full powers and potentials. Gattegnos aim is not just second language learning it is nothing less than the education of the spiritual powers and of the sensitivity of the private. success of linguistic skills are seen in the light of an emotional inner quiet resulting from the sense of power and control brought about by new takes of awareness. Silent Way learning claims to consolidate the human dimensions of existence, which include variety and identity operator as essential factors for an acceptance of others as contributors to ones own life and even out moves us towards better and more lasting solutions of present-day conflicts (G attegno 1972 84).DesignObjectivesThe ecumenical objective of the Silent Way is to give beginning level students spoken and aural facility in basic elements of the target language. The general address set for language learning is near- native-born fluency in the target language, and correct pronunciation and mastery of the prosodic elements of the target language are emphasized. An neighboring(a) objective is to provide the learner with a basic practical noesis of the grammar of the language. This forms the basis for independent learning on the learners part. Gattegno discusses the following kinds of objectives as appropriate for a language course at an elementary level (Gattegno 1972 81-83). Students should be able to correctly and easily answer questions about themselves, their education, their family, travel, and daily events speak with a good accent give either a scripted or oral description of a picture, including the existing relationships that concern space, time and son g answer general questions about the culture and the literature of the native speakers of the target language perform adequately in the following areas spelling, grammar (production rather than explanation), reading comprehension, and writing.Gattegno states that the Silent Way teaches learners how to learn a language, and the skills developed through the process of learning a foreign or second language can fee employed in dealing with unknowns of either type. The method, we are told, can also be used to teach reading and writing, and its returns is not restricted to beginning level students. Most of the examples Gattegno describes, however, as strong as the classes we have observed, deal primarily with a basic level of aural/ oral proficiency.The syllabusThe Silent Way adopts a basically structural syllabus, with lessons planned around grammatical items and related vocabulary. Gattegno does not, however, provide flesh out as to the precise selection and arrangement of grammati cal and lexical items to be covered. There is no general Silent Way syllabus. But from expression of Silent Way programs developed by the Peace corps to teach a variety of languages at a basic level of proficiency, it is clear that language items are introduced according to their grammatical complexity, their relationship to what has been taught previously, and the ease with which items can be presented visually. Typically, the imperative is the initial mental synthesis introduced, because of the ease with which action verbs may be demonstrated utilise Silent Way materials. New elements, such as the plural form of nouns, are taught within a structure already familiar. Numeration occurs archean in a course, because of the importance of numbers in everyday life and the ease with which they can be demonstrated. Prepositions of location also appear early in the syllabus for similar reasons. phrase is selected according to the degree to which it can be manipulated within a prone st ructure and according to its productivity within the classroom setting. In sum total to prepositions and numbers, pronouns, quantifiers, words dealing with temporal relations, and words of comparison are introduced early in the course, because they refer to oneself and to others in the numerous relations of everyday life (Stevick 1979). These kinds of words are referred to as the functional vocabulary of a language because of their high utility.The following is a section of a Peace Corps Silent Way Syllabus for the first ten hours of cultivation in Thai. It is used to teach American Peace Corps volunteers being accomplished to teach in Thailand. At least 15 minutes of every hour of instruction would be spent on pronunciation. A word that is italicised can be substituted for by another word having the same function.Lesson diction1. timber colour red.wood, red, jet-propelled plane, yellow, brown, pink, white, orange, black, colour2. Using the numbers 1-10one, two, ten3. woods c olour red two pieces.take (pick up)4. Take (pick up) wood colour red two piecesgive, object pronouns5. Take wood colour red two pieces hive himwhere, on, under, near, far, over, next to, here, there6. Wood red where? Wood red on table.Question-forming rules. Yes. No.7. Wood colour red on table, is it? Yes, on. Not on.adjectives of comparison8. Wood colour red long. Wood colour green longer. Wood colour orange longest.9. Wood colour green taller. Wood colour red is it?10. Review. Students use structures taught in new situations, such as comparing the heights of students in the class.(Joel Wiskin, personal communication)Types of learning and teaching activitiesLearning tasks and activities in the Silent Way have the function of back up and shaping student oral solvent without direct oral instruction from or unnecessary mannequin by the teacher. Basic to the method are simple linguistic tasks in which the teacher models a word, phrase, or sentence and then chevys learner responses. Learners then go on create their own voxs by putting together old and new information. graphs, rods, and other acquired immune deficiency syndrome may be used to elicit learner responses. instructor modelling is minimal, although much of the activity may be teacher directed. Responses to commands, questions, and visual cues thus constitute the basis for classroom activities.Learner rolesGattegno sees language learning as a process of personal growth resulting from growing Student awareness and self-challenge. The learner first experiences a random or approximately random feeling of the area of activity in question until one finds one or more cornerstones to build on. Then starts a regular analysis, first by trial and error, later by directed experiment with practice of the acquired sub areas until mastery follows (Gattegno 1972 79). Learners are expected to develop independence, autonomy, and responsibility. free-lance learners are those who are aware that they must depend on their own resources and realize that they can use the knowledge of their own language to open up some things in a new language or that they can take their knowledge of the first few words in the new language and figure out additional words by using that knowledge (Stevick 1980 42). The autonomous learner exacts proper expressions in a devoted set of circumstances and situations. The teacher cultivates the students autonomy by deliberately mental synthesis choices into situations (Stevick 1980 42). Responsible learners know that they have free will to choose among any set of linguistic choices. The ability to choose intelligently and carefully is said to be evidence of responsibility. The absence seizure of correction and repeated modelling from the teacher requires the students to develop inner criteria and to correct themselves. The absence of explanations requires learners to make abstractednesss, come to their own conclusions, and formulate whatever rules they themselves f eel they need.Learners exert a hefty influence over each others learning and, to a lesser degree, over the linguistic inwardness taught. They are expected to interact with each other and extract alternatives to each other. Learners have only themselves as individuals and the group to rely on, and so must learn to work cooperatively rather than competitively. They need to feel comfortable both correcting each other and being correct by each other.In order to be productive members of the learning group, learners-thus have to play variegateing roles. At times one is an independent individual, at other times a group member. A learner also must be a teacher, a student, part of a support system, a problem solver, and a self-evaluator. And it is the student who is usually expected to decide on what role is most appropriate to a given situation. teacher rolesTeacher silence is, perhaps, the unique and, for many traditionally trained language teachers, the most demanding aspect of the Si lent Way. Teachers are exhorted to stand pat their long standing commitment to model, remodel, assist, and direct desired student responses, and Silent Way teachers have remarked upon the arduousness of self-restraint to which early expedience of the Silent Way has subjected them. Gattegno talks of subordinating teaching to learning, but that is not to suggest that the teachers role in Silent Way is not critical and demanding. Gattegno anticipates that using the Silent Way would require most teachers to change their perception of their role. Stevick defines the Silent Way teachers tasks as (a) to teach, (b) to test, and (c) to get out of the way (Stevick 1980 56). Although this may not seem to constitute a radical alternative to standard teaching practice, the details of the steps the teacher is expected to follow are unique to the Silent Way.By teaching is meant the presentation of an item once, typically using nonverbal clues to get across meanings. Testing follows immediately an d might better be termed elicitation and shaping of student production, which, again, is done in as silent a way as possible. Finally, the teacher silently monitors learners interactions with each other and may even leave the room eyepatch learners assay with their new linguistic tools and pay their ogdens. For the most part, Silent Way teachers manuals are unavailable (however, see Arnold 1981), and teachers are responsible for designing teaching sequences and creating individual lessons and lesson elements. Gattegno emphasizes the importance of teacher-defined learning goals that are clear and attainable. Sequence and timing in Silent Way classes are more important than in many kinds of language teaching classes, and the teachers sensitivity and management of them is critical.More generally, the teacher is responsible for creating an environment that encourages student risk taking and that facilitates learning. This is not to say that the Silent Way teacher becomes one of the gr oup. In fact, observers have noted that Silent Way teachers often appear aloof or even gruff with their students. The teachers role is one of neutral observer, neither elated by correct performance nor discouraged by error. Students are expected to come to see supportive but emotionally uninvolved.The teacher uses gestures, charts, and manipulates in order to elicit and shape student responses and so must be both fluid and creative as a pantomimist and puppeteer. In sum, the Silent way teacher, like the complete dramatist, writes the script, chooses the props, sets the mood, models the action, designates the players, and is critic for the performance. The role of instructional materialsThe Silent Way is perhaps as well known for the unique nature of its teaching materials as for the silence of its teachers. The materials consist mainly of a set of colored rods, coded-coded pronunciation and vocabulary argue charts, a pointer, and reading/writing exercises, all of which are used to illustrate the relationships between sound and meaning in the target language. The materials are designed for manipulation by the students as well as by the teacher, independently and cooperatively, in promoting language learning by direct association. The number of languages and contain symbolizations in the target language for all of the vowel and consonant sounds of the language. The symbols are colour coded according to pronunciation thus, if a language possesses two different symbols for the same sound, they will be dingy alike. Classes often begin by using Fidel charts in the native language, colour coded in an analogous manner, so that students learn to pair a sound with its associated colour. There may be from one to eight of such charts, depending upon the language. The teacher uses the pointer to argue a sound symbol for the students to produce. Where native-language Fidels are used, the teacher will point to a symbol on one chart and then to its analogue on the Fide l in the other language. In the absence of native-language charts, or when introducing a sound not present in the native language, the teacher will give one clear, audible model later indicating the proper Fidel symbol in the target language. The charts are hung on the wall and serve to aid in remembering pronunciation and in building new words by sounding out sequences of symbols as they are pointed to by the teacher or student.Just as the Fidel charts are used to visually illustrate pronunciation, the coloured cuisenaire rods are used to directly link words and structures with their meanings in the target language, thereby avoiding translation into the native language. The rods vary in length from one to ten centimetres, and each length has a specific colour. The rods may be used for naming colours, for size comparisons, to represent people build floor plans, constitute a road map, and so on. Use of the rods is intended to promote inventiveness, creativity, and interest in formin g communicative utterances on the part of the students, as they move from simple to more complex structures. Gattegno and his proponents recall that the range of structures that can be illustrated and learned through skilful use of the rods is as limitless as the human imagination. When the teacher or student has tighty expressing a desired word or concept, the rods can be supplemented by referring to the Fidel charts, or to the third major visual aid used in the Silent Way, the vocabulary charts. The vocabulary or word charts are likewise colour coded, although the colours of the symbols will not correspond to the phonetics of the Fidels, but rather to conceptual groupings of words. There are typically twelve such charts containing 500 to 800 words in the native language and script. These words are selected according to their ease of application in teaching, their relative place in the functional or luxury vocabulary, their flexibility in terms of generalization and use with othe r words, and their importance in illustrating basic grammatical structures. The confine of word charts will vary from language to language, but the general content of the vocabulary charts (Gattegno 1972) is paraphrased belowChart 1 the word rod, colours of the rods, plural markers, simple imperative verbs, personal pronouns, some adjectives and question wordsCharts 2, 3 rest pronouns, words for here and there, of, for, and nameChart 4 numbersCharts 5, 6 words illustrating size, space, and temporal relationships, as well as some concepts difficult to illustrate with rods, such as order, causality, condition, similarity and differenceChart 7 words that qualify, such as adverbsCharts 8, 9 verbs, with cultural references where possibleChart 10 family relationships Charts 11, 12 words expressing time, calendar elements, seasons, days, week, month,year, etc.Other materials that may be used include books and worksheets for practicing reading and writing skills, picture books, tapes vide otapes, films, and other visual aids. Reading and writing are sometimes taught from the beginning and students are given assignments to do outside the classroom at their own pace. These materials are of secondary importance, and are used to supplement the classroom use of rods and charts. election and implementation depends upon need as assessed by teachers and/or students.ProcedureA Silent way lesson typically follows a standard format. The first part of the lesson focuses on pronunciation. Depending on student level, the class might work on sounds, phrases, or even sentences designated on the Fidel chart. At the beginning stage, the teacher will model the appropriate sound after pointing to a symbol on the chart. Later, the teacher will silently point to individual symbols and combinations of symbols, and on monitor student utterances. The teacher may say a word and have a student guess what sequence of symbols compromised the word.The pointer is used to indicate stress, phrasing , and intonation. Stress can be shown by touching certain symbol more forcibly than others when pointing out a word. Intonation and phrasing can be demonstrated by tapping on the chart to the rhythm of the utterance. by and by practice with the sounds of the language, sentence patterns, structure, and vocabulary are practiced. The teacher models an utterance while creating a visual realization of it with the coloured rods. After modelling the utterance, the teacher will have a student onrush to produce the utterance and will indicate its acceptability. If a response is incorrect, the teacher will attempt to reshape the utterance or have another student present the correct model. After a structure is introduced and understood, the teacher will create a situation in which the students can practice the structure through the manipulation of the rods. Variations on the structural theme will be elicited from the class using the rods and charts.The sample lesson that follows illustrates a typical lesson format. The language being taught is Thai, for which this is the first lesson.1. Teacher empties rods onto the table. .2. Teacher picks up two or terzetto rods of different colours, and after each rod is picked up says mai.3. Teacher holds up one rod of any colour and indicates to a student that a response is required. Student says mai. If response is incorrect, teacher elicits response from another student, who then models for the first student.4. Teacher next picks up a red rod and says mai sti daeng.5. Teacher picks up a green rod and says mai sii khiawj.6. Teacher picks up either a red or green rod and elicits response from student, If response is incorrect, procedure in step 3 is followed (student modeling).7. Teacher introduces two or three other colors in the same manner.8. Teacher shows any of the rods whose forms were taught previously and elicits student response. Correction technique is through student modeling, or the teacher may help student insulate error and self-correct.9. When mastery is achieved, teacher puts one red rod in plain view and says mai sii daeng nung an.10. Teacher then puts two red rods in plain view and says mai sii daeng song an.11. Teacher places two green rods in view and says mai sii khiaw song an12. Teacher holds up two rods of a different color and elicits student response.13. Teacher introduces additional numbers, based on what the class can comfortably retain. Other colors might also be introduced.14. Rods are put in a pile. Teacher indicates, through his or her own actions, that rods should be picked up, and the correct utterance made. All die students in the group pick up rods and make correction is encouraged.15. Teacher then says kep mai sii daeng